Mortar spreader



Nov. l1, 1930. n.1'. AlNsLlE HORTAR SPREADER Filed Feb. 9, 192s Patented Nov. 11, 1930 PATENT OFFICE ROBERT T. .AINSLIIEL OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA.

MORTAB SPREADER Appnoaaon mea rebruay 9, 192s. serial No. 338,665.

This invention relates to means for spreading mortar in the construction of walls of tile, brick and the like, and while espec1ally adapted to the laying of mortar on the upper faces of hollow t1le, 1t is not necessarily limited thereto.

The chief object of this invention is to provide a mechanism for spreadin mortar in long strips of the required quantity with dislo patch upon the side portions only of the upper faces of holloJw tile courses without discharging into the tile openin s, and to eliminate mortar waste that usua ly occurs when the mortar is applied by means of the hand trowel.

Another object is to provide a cheap and eicient mechanism in which the mortar is applied to tile or brick courses\in an even manner and troweled to the requisite thickness, whereby perfect walls are attained with straight courses;

Briefly and broadly, the invention resides in a sort of hopper provided with a spreading edge cooperating with a plurality of supportin and guiding rollers which serve to proper y position said edge, and in apreferred embodiment a baie plate also is provided to cooperate with the silreading edge I and withholdv mortar from 'scharge into vertically disposed openings in hollow tile.

ln the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form is disclosed for purposes of illustration Fig. 1 is a lperspective view showing the 85 spreader in operative position on a hollow tile wall.

Fig. 2 is a front end elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section therethrough.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of the front end of the mortar spreader formed entirely of sheet metal, showing'another form of baffle plate.

The spreader comprises a pair of sides 10 between which is positioned an inclined bottom and back wall 12, this wall being retained by means of a plurality of bolts 14 or the like.

v Said inclined wall 12 is of a width to properly position the sides 10 with respect to the tile wall -T or other wall being constructed, and the sides 10 extend below the lower edge of wall 12 far enough to act as guides for retaining the spreader. A handle 15 for manipulating the device is also positioned between the walls 11 and performs the addi- 65 tional function of further positioning said sides 10.

In order that the proper vertical adjustment of the spreading edges may be had, a roller 16 is mounted on a rod 17 and a roller 60 18 is mounted on a rod 19 for rotary movement between the sides 10. The roller 16 is held in one position, but the roller 18 is adjustable by reason of vertical slots 20 and wing nuts 22 on the ends of rod 19.

The spreading of the morta-r layer is in part determined by the lower edge of a front wall 25 equal in width to the wall 12 and ivoted upon a rod 26 to swing between the sides 10. A handle 27 may be provided at the top of said front wall 25 to manipulate the same to and ,from the normal operating position shown in full lines'in Fig. 3 and the dotted line position which cuts o' all mortar flow, and if desired the various positions may be maintained through the medium of curved slots 28 in the sides 10 through which project the ends of a rod 29 or the like connected with wall 25, said rod ends carrying thumb nuts 30 to clamp the parts in set positions.

The lower end of wall 25 acts as a spreading edge, the exact thickness of the mortar layer being determined by `lthe position of the adjusting roller 18. AFor operating the spreader on the hollow tile wall -T-, a bale plate 32 is carried by and projects forward from the lower end of the inclined wall 12 for the purpose of overlying the vertical openings in the tile and preventing the flow of mortar -M- under the superimposed ed e portion of wall 25. The lower edge of ont 26 may if'desired be notched at 33 to receive the baille 32, the baiiie being retained as by being forced into a kerf or notch in the lower portion vof inclined wall 12 as indicated in Fig. 3.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the spreader is formed of sheet metal, the front wall 25 at its lower end being bent outwardly into a curved lip 40 designed to assist the troweling action of the s reader when in operation. The lower end o the inclined' bottom and back wall 12, has a centrally disposed transversely extending slot 41 in which is disposed the hooked inner end 42 of a metal baille plate 43, the outer end of said late being curved upwardly and passing t rough a slot 44 in the front wall 25, slmilar to the slot 41 formed in the inclined bottom and back Wall 12. As the curved end of the baffie is freely movable in the slot 44, and its rear end pivoted to the inclined -bottom it will be apparentl that the front wall 25 may be readily moved to and from the inclined bottom wall with-V out affecting its movement when it is desired to adjust the mortar discharge openn s at either side of the baiile plate.

n this form of spreader the rollers 16 and 19 are of octagonal form in cross section, in order that a continual vibration will be imparted to the spreader when in operation to shake or freely feed the mortar to the discharge openings.

In operation, the spreader may be placed on a wall and filled with a hodful of mortar M4-1 The roller 18 having been adjusted to determine the desired thickness of the mortar layer and the front wall 25 having been adjusted substantially as indicated, the handle 15 is grasped tofmove the spreader to the right, thus allowing mortar to pass through the throat 34 and be spread into two strips by the lower edge portions of the wall 25 at opposite sides of the baille 32, as indicated. It will of course be understood that mortar'in the end joints 35 of the wall will have been placed with a trowel during the laying of the tile. The same operation may be employed in laying a brick or other solid wall construction, the bale being retained: but if preferred the baille may be omitted for such use. When desiredto set the spreader aside while holding a quantity of mortar, the wall 25 may be 'moved to the closed dotted line position of Fig. 3, thus preventing leakage.

I claim:

1. A mortar spreader having walls whose lower edges define a throat and one of which edges acts as a spreading edge, means to properly position the device on a wall, and means to adjust the spreading edge vertically. l

2. A mortar spreader having walls whose lower edges define a discharge throat and one of which serves as a spreading` edge, and a plurality of means to position the spreader on a wall to be coated, one of said means being adjustable to vary the elevation of the spreading edge.

3. A construction according to claim 2 wherein a bailie plate spans a portion only of said throat to limit the width of spread.

4. A structure according to claim 1 wherein one of the walls is movable to position to cut off mortar ow.

5. A mortar preader having walls whose lower edges de ne a dischar e throat and one of which serves as a sprea 'ng edge, and a plurality of rollers to position the spreader on a wall to lbe coated, one of said'- rollers being vertically adjustable with respect to the spreader to vary the. elevation of the spreading edge. j

6. A mortar spreader comprising a. hopper consistn of side walls, an inchned bottom Wall an an adjustable front wall, the lower end of said front wall coo erating with the lower end of the incline bottom .wall to form a mortar discharge throat, a baille plate secured t0 the lower end of said bottom wall and engaging the lower edge of the front wall, said baille plate spanning a portion only of said throat to limit the width of mortar spread.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.,

ROBERT T. AINSLIE. 

